


Beach Day

by great_turkey_calamity



Series: Hey Look Trans Rep [6]
Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Big Sister Bea, M/M, Mild Gender Dysphoria, Phillip used to be a jerk, Trans Alex, alex just wants to stay as far away from the water as possible, bea talks him into getting in the water, its generally wholesome, so now he’s trying to change and be better, the royals Alex and Pez go on a holiday, then he realized he was hurting people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26327248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/great_turkey_calamity/pseuds/great_turkey_calamity
Summary: Henry drags Alex along on a family summer holiday to Mustique, an island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.Alex is not having it.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Martha Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor/Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Series: Hey Look Trans Rep [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747501
Comments: 8
Kudos: 81





	Beach Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a really short fic mostly focusing on an interaction with Bea and Alex. Also: if you are trans, use a swimming binder when you go swimming!!
> 
> Happy reading!!

Alex has been in this country for five minutes, and he’s already regretting the fact that he agreed to come in the first place. He’d been resistant to Henry’s begging and pleading at first, had put his foot down and told him that no, he would _not_ be accompanying him to his family’s private villa on an island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and that he would be just fine on his own at home.

However, after persistent nagging from both Bea and Pez, as well as gentle questioning from Martha— hell, even _Phillip_ had extended an open invitation— he felt thoroughly pressured into tagging along. So, everyone had set out for Mustique, and he found himself completely unable to keep up with everyone else’s energy; it was one of those odd, out-of-character instances where everyone was too energetic and excited for his taste.

He’ll have to give it to the royals on this one: they know how to do a summer getaway. Mustique is gorgeous, with clear, turquoise water and great, tall, healthy palm trees. The sand is white and fine, and the vegetation is lush, green, and thick. It feels like something out of an old Hollywood film; beautiful and surreal. He’d overheard Phillip speaking about the island earlier, how it’s regarded as one of the most beautiful on the planet. He finds himself agreeing.  
  


_Villa Antilles_ is, perhaps, one of the most luxurious places he’s ever stepped foot in, besides Kensington Palace. It’s all light-colored woods and furniture in white and pastels. He would have very much enjoyed some time for him and his partner get acquainted with the room that they were sharing, but everyone seemed ready to head down to the beach as soon as possible. He was able to suppress the hissy fit that was bubbling up as he showered, swapping out his regular binder for the one he had bought for this very occasion; he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually been swimming, but he figured he ought to be properly prepared. He’d slipped a novel and his readers into Henry’s beach bag, hoping that he’d be left alone with his nose shoved in a book.  
  


It was a relatively short trip to their destination, about a ten minute walk from the villa. There aren’t any other people around, so they’ll have quite a bit of privacy, which is greatly appreciated. Henry tries to head straight into the water, but Alex is quick to put a stop to his actions.

“Not so fast,” He tells him, grabbing him tightly by the wrist and pulling him back. “You’re forgetting something.”

Henry, adorably clueless, tries to give Alex a quick kiss and dash away, only to be pulled back again.

“What?” He whines, very eager to get in the water and under the sun, reminding Alex of an impatient, bratty child. 

  
“I don’t need you fussing over bug bites or sunburns. C’mere.” Alex beckons, pulling out two cans from the bag, one being bug repellent, the other being high strength sunscreen. After some moaning, groaning, and an accidental spray to the mouth, he manages to cover Henry from head to toe in both substances. “Alright, you’re all good. Come over to me if you need anything, okay?” 

“Okay,” Henry says, brows furrowing when his words finally register. “Are you not getting in the water?”

“Not right now.” He replies with a shake of the head. “Think I’m gonna read for a while. Maybe just take a nap while y’all mess around.”

Henry nods, and there’s something in his eyes that doesn’t really sit right in Alex’s mind. He realizes a beat later that what he sees there is disappointment, and tries to keep it from affecting himself too much, tries to keep his emotions out of his facial expression.

  
“That’s alright,” Henry breathes, his understanding smile doing very little to reassure or convince Alex that everything’s okay. “Maybe later, then. Kiss?” He sweetly requests, leaning down a bit to accommodate Alexander’s height. 

It’s passive and quick, nothing more than a peck. It doesn’t satisfy either of them, and just as soon as Henry’s lips begin to form the beginning of a sentence, more likely a question, most likely _‘what’s wrong’_ , Pez shouts for him.  
  


“Break it up, lovebirds! Henry, you’re on Bea’s team for shoulder wars, get your arse _out here!_ “ He yells, and Henry turns back to Alex, who just smiles and squeezes his hand. 

“Go beat Phillip’s ass for me.” He encourages, which makes Henry laugh.

“I’ll try my best, I love you.”

“I love you too—“

“Henry, _come on!_ ” Pez shouts once again.

“I’m _coming!_ ” Henry shouts in return, tone so un-princely that it makes Alex chuckle. He waves his lover off, watching as he runs to join his family and friend. 

He doesn’t get very much reading done at all. Everything’s a bit overwhelming, with the smell of salt, the birds crying over head, loud screeching laughter and whoops of victory, and the waves rolling and crashing against the sand. None of the words make sense, and his eyes can’t focus on the page; he’s read the same paragraph at least six times at this point. He finds himself resigning from his task in favor of laying sprawled out on his towel with his eyes closed, trying to keep his breathing as level and even as he can. 

He feels something nudge him in his side a couple of times, and opens one eye, readying himself to squint at the blinding afternoon sunlight.   
  


He finds Bea standing above him, wringing her hair out with a towel.  


“Mind if I sit with you for a minute? They’ve gone and busted out a beach ball, and I need to rest for a spell.” She asks, and he nods, sitting up and moving over, giving her some space on his towel. 

He finally retires the book and glasses to the bag, despite not having used them for about a half hour at this point. He leans back on his hands, huffs, and peers up at the sky, hoping for clouds to come and relieve him from this exhausting, slowly-ebbing heat. 

“So,” Bea starts, twisting her hair up into a bun. “Why won’t you get in the water?” She questions, securing her elastic hair tie whilst she stares Alex down, waiting for a response.

“I don’t like the water.” He responds quickly, feeling like he’s being interrogated, like he’s been put on the spot. Bea only raises an eyebrow at him, smiling mischievously.

“You seem to like your father’s lake house just fine.” She points out, having trapped Alex in a corner. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know. I’m capable of listening to and understanding the problems of others.”

Alex sighs, drawing his legs into himself. “I know, I know, it’s just—“ He trails off, struggling to find the words. “This is different than the lake house. This is more, more—“

“More public?” She prompts.

“Yeah,” He breathes, looking straight ahead, just to see Pez smack his hands down in the water, completely soaking Henry. He soaks Pez right back, and before he’s able to comprehend it, the two of them have started a full-on wrestling match. Phillip is shouting instructions at Henry, and Martha has her head tipped back in laughter.

“You don’t like that?” She continues, and he looks down.  
  


“No, I don’t think I do.” He admits, drawing nonsensical shapes in the sand. “It’s different at the lake house. Everyone there knows me well. Here it’s like, well, I’m _already_ uncomfortable, and I wouldn’t wanna to make anyone else feel that way, y’know?” He continues, looking to her.

“Is this about Pip?” She asks, her head tilted to the side. Evidently, he’s taken a bit too long to answer, and she hums, placing her hand on his leg. “Love, he would _never_ comment on something like that. I know you might have some walls up around him still, and I really can’t blame you for that, but he’s changed so much. He’s made an effort to learn instead of remaining ignorant. I don’t think he’s gotten along so well with Hen since we were all children.” She claims, and Alex looks back out to where everyone is wading in the water with the ball, playing what Alex can only assume is some sort of volleyball match. He’s quick to notice that teams consist of Pez and Martha against Henry and Phillip. It does something funny in his head, and there’s an echo effect in his chest. 

“I don’t know, Bea.” He whispers, pulling at the collar of his shirt. “I just don’t know.”

“And that’s alright. At the end of the day, you get to decide if you want to get in the water or not. That’s the beauty in making a decision, love. Say that you _do_ get in the water, and Phillip _does_ make some sort of dickish comment. You know what I’ll do?” 

“What?” He asks, feeling the pressure in his chest break up a bit. 

“Shove a handful of sand down his fucking pants.” She snickers, and Alex can’t help but snort, only to burst into a quiet fit of giggles. “There we are— that’s what I wanted to see. A smile.” She states, looking awfully happy with herself. “I’m going to head back over to referee the game, call me over if you want some company, Alex.”

“I will.”

With a peck to his cheek, she's off, screaming her head off at Henry for pulling some sort of foul, telling them all to _‘get their arses back in formation’_. 

The lump in his throat is dissolving, and he knows what to do. 

He waits until he’s absolutely certain that nobody’s glancing in his direction, and pulls off his tee shirt, kicking off his shoes. The sand is hot beneath his heels, soft. He shoves his shirt in his bag, stands up, and slowly makes his way into the water, moving deeper and deeper, until it’s at about the level of his collarbones. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and slips under, re-emerging after a few seconds, combing his hair out of his eyes. He peers out into the vastness of the ocean, captivated by the very nature of it.   
  


His heart is beating rapidly, and he thinks he might be panicking, but he’s never felt more calm and free, more at peace with himself than in this moment.  
  


The war between his mind and body has stopped. 

  
For now, at least.   
  


He feels a familiar set of strong arms wrap around his waist, and places his hands on top of Henry’s.

“How are you?” His lover asks, pressing a kiss to the nape of his neck.

It takes Alex a minute to find his footing, to enter reality again.

When he does, he is certain of himself.

“Good.” He says, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. “I’m good.”  


**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: bi-disaster-fsotus


End file.
